Some Highlights from England

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has an incredible jewelry collection and the best book store I've ever been to.The books are almost exclusively about decorative art, craft and fashion, which is very relevant to my work. Unable to cope with finding so much useful research material in one place, I almost had a panic attack. I was running from shelf to shelf with an arm load of books like a crazy person: flipping desperately though pages, devouring what I could with my eyes and mumbling to myself in disoriented excitement, all the while knowing that I couldn't take my hoard home with me due to luggage weight limitations. I chose 3 of my favorite books and resorted to photographing the covers of the other ones so that I could order them online once I came home. I spent more time in the bookstore than in the exhibits.Phantom of the opera musical on Piccadilly.I've always disliked live stage shows. They make me uncomfortable. I don't know why, but after I seeing the Phantom of he Opera, I've began to suspect that it's because I've never seen a good one up until then. I was astounded at the quality of production and blown away by the experience! There is so much live entertainment going on in London...all the time. It's so dynamic and vibrant. Vancouver is a cultural ghost town compared to large European cities. It makes me sad. It's very pretty here though.London Eye is the biggest Ferris wheel in Europe and the third largest in the world.I'm very uncomfortable with heights, but not enough to avoid going up on tall, non-moving structures with spectacular views. I hate rollecoasters with a passion and never go to the so called amusement parks, but I thought it would be a great experience to go for a ride to 135 m (443ft) in a glass cabin. When we started climbing and I saw the earth slowly fall away beneath my feet, I began to regret my decision. Luckily, I was trapped up there in the sky and had nowhere to go but up. See more photos from the ride here.The Stonehenge.I've been wanting to see the Stonehenge ever since I was a little girl and finally my dream came true. I love ancient monuments because they are eternally shrouded in mystery and provide a physical link to a time long gone. Ancient places are mystical. Touching something that's been around for thousands of years makes me feel like I'm touching the very fabric of time, as if it's been absorbed by the object. Unfortunately I was unable to touch anything at Stonehenge because of the severely restricted access. I was only able to gaze at it from afar and contemplate the mystery of the place from behind the fence meant to keep all visitors seemingly half a mile away. But even contemplating was hard, because the Stonehenge is situated right smack in the middle between two big highways. Yeah. Noise pollution and traffic are super mysterious. They really add to the whole ancient feel. Reee-diculous.Who was the genius -city-planning engineer who approved the construction of highways within meters of a world heritage site?! And it's not like there was no other option; there are miles of empty, rolling land all around it and instead of moving the roads half a mile in either direction, somebody decided that those highways had to be built right there, in that exact spot. Right where they will ruin the view and the experience the most. Stupid.Although London seemed so big and busy at first that it made me apprehensive, I still very much enjoyed visiting it and look forward to coming back at one point.